The Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) is a condition encountered in persons having had a poliomyelitis infection earlier in their life. PPS appears after a long stable period of several decades following acute polio infection. It is generally characterized by increased or new muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, muscle fatigue, and pain. The cause of PPS has not yet been established. Autopsy of PPS patients who died of other diseases reveals inflammatory cells in the spinal cord. Also, non-specific inflammatory changes have been shown to occur in their cerebrospinal fluid.
Several mechanisms have been proposed for the pathogenesis of PPS, including attrition of motor neurons because of aging or persistent remnants of poliovirus, and an activated immunoresponse.
While there is no curative treatment of PPS pain related to PPS may be alleviated, albeit not very efficiently, by administering analgesics. There is thus a great need for a method for treating PPS.